Balsamic Glazed Salmon

When anything includes balsamic glaze in the title definitely sign me up! This Balsamic Glazed Salmon is one of my favorite ways to prepare salmon! It’s easy to make yet the end results are amazingly delicious. It’s just one of those impressive entrees that’s sure to please yet it doesn’t require much. It has layers of flavor that all come together so well. You get the perfectly pan seared salmon with it’s golden brown, nicely crisp, outer edge then it’s perfectly tender melt-in-your mouth interior and it’s drizzled with a sweet and lightly tart and tangy reduced honey-balsamic + garlic rosemary glaze. How could you not love it??

I know I share a lot of salmon recipes and if you don’t want to pay the higher cost of salmon you definitely can use chicken as well. Just pound them to an even thickness then cook about 4- 5 minutes per side until they are 165 degrees in the center. Then when you can splurge definitely try it with the salmon at least once. This sauce is just so good over salmon! Then I recommend serving it up with asparagus, green beans or a green salad. Just don’t be skimpy with the glaze over the salmon. Of course I ended up adding more than pictured here. Just smother them :).

Photos and recipe updated from archives. Originally shared March 2014.

Ingredients

Balsamic Rosemary Glaze

Salmon

4(6 oz) salmon filletsskinless or skin on

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2tspolive oildivided

Finely minced rosemary or parsley, for garnish(optional)

Instructions

Allow salmon to rest 10 - 15 minutes at room temperature. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine balsamic vinegar, white wine, honey, dijon mustard, rosemary and the garlic. Heat mixture over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer over medium-low heat until sauce has thickened and reduced to about 1/3 cup, about 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and pour through a fine strainer into a heat proof dish. Set aside.

Season both sides of salmon with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon fillets and cook, without moving until salmon has nicely browned on bottom, about 3 - 4 minutes. Carefully flip salmon to opposite side and continue to cook 2 - 3 minutes longer until salmon has cooked through.

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78 comments

sally @ sallys baking addiction: Jaclyn, I have been looking for new fish recipes to enjoy during Lent. Kevin and I love salmon and I already have your pan-seared honey glazed salmon bookmarked! This one looks fantastic too. I can already taste its flavor! March 9, 2014 at 1:50pmReply

Tammy: Can you do the Balsamic Glazed Salmon in the oven? thank you. March 9, 2014 at 2:45pmReply

Jaclyn: I’m sure you could bake the salmon but I like to do it in the pan for this version best because it gives it a nicely browned exterior that’s perfect for drizzling in glaze. The oven won’t give the same effect plus it will take longer to cook. March 9, 2014 at 7:05pmReply

Chelsea @chelseasmessyapron: These photos are seriously making me drool! This salmon looks gorgeous Jaclyn! And loving that this is 30 minutes prep! March 9, 2014 at 2:47pmReply

Shari Kelley: I try to fix salmon once a week for the health benefits, but I don’t have that many recipes for it. Plus, my husband doesn’t like lemon, and a lot of salmon recipes have lemon in them. So thank you very much for sharing this recipe, Jaclyn! I love balsamic vinegar, too, and this salmon looks amazing. I’m going to try it this week. March 9, 2014 at 8:31pmReply

Jaclyn: I hope you love it Shari! If you haven’t tried the other ones I have mentioned in the post above – I’d definitely recommend trying those out too and you might hopefully like them enough to add them to the rotation :). March 9, 2014 at 8:45pmReply

Kirsten: This looks awesome. What brand/kind of white wine do you use? March 10, 2014 at 6:49pmReply

Jaclyn: I used Pinot Grigio. To be honest since I don’t drink wine I couldn’t say which is the best, but that kind turned out perfect with this salmon. I hope you try it and love it Kirsten! March 10, 2014 at 10:49pmReply

Sarah: Do you have a substitute for the wine or can I leave it out? March 17, 2014 at 11:18amReply

Jaclyn: You could probably leave it out but I would up the amount of balsamic vinegar. I hope you try this and love it Sarah! March 17, 2014 at 12:31pmReply

Missy: I only had 1/4c of balsamic vinegar, so I added 1/4c of Trader Joe’s Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar to the glaze! Delicious!

I look forward to trying this again with other flavored balsamic vinegars! March 17, 2014 at 4:20pmReply

Jaclyn: I’m so glad you liked it Missy! Thanks for your review! March 17, 2014 at 8:39pmReply

Ondrea: This sounds delicious!! Can you confirm that you drizzle the COOLED balsalmic reduction over the salmon? And it looks like you skinned the salmon first. Thanks! Can’t wait to try it. March 29, 2014 at 7:53pmReply

Jaclyn: Yes I drizzled the cooled balsamic reduction over and yes use skinned salmon. I hope you love it Ondrea! March 30, 2014 at 12:09pmReply

ondrea: Thank you! I made it last night and it was delicious! March 31, 2014 at 7:34amReply

Jaclyn: I’m so glad you liked it Ondrea! Thanks for your feedback! March 31, 2014 at 9:02pmReply

Shari Kelley: I made this for dinner tonight, Jaclyn. It was delicious! I loved the balsamic sauce. It was so simple to prepare, too. Thanks for giving me another way to cook salmon! April 16, 2014 at 6:18pmReply

Jaclyn: I’m so glad you liked this salmon Shari! Thanks for leaving another comment :)! April 16, 2014 at 8:00pmReply

kelly: So, all 5 of my kids just about loathe salmon. And it’s not my favorite either. I don’t usually make that much of it, because they don’t eat that much when I make it. UNTIL TODAY. They were fighting for it! I mean, the big ones ate the pieces the little ones left. My oldest daughter said, mom you have to leave a comment on the website. I have never done this before…..
You knocked this out of the park. Making salmon this way….forever. (Well, I try the honey seared one too). Thank you. We now love salmon! :) April 24, 2014 at 6:40pmReply

Jaclyn: I’m so glad you left a comment Kelly :) and I’m so happy to hear it got your kids to enjoy salmon! Thanks so much for your comment!! May 6, 2014 at 6:31pmReply

Katie: I am not fond of salmon but my husband likes it so I decided, at the suggestion of a friend, to purchase a bag of wild Alaskan sockeye at Costco. I have been trying to work up the nerve to cook it but just hadn’t found the recipe that would cause me to jump in UNTIL NOW. That balsamic glaze on the salmon is so beautiful and we love balsamic – I am about to break free and cook salmon. Thank you for the inspiration. May 29, 2014 at 5:38pmReply

heather: I just made this for dinner and I was to die for. Even my very pick husband loved it. Thanks for sharing June 20, 2014 at 8:10pmReply

Jaclyn: Thanks for the great review Heather! I’m happy to hear you both enjoyed it! June 20, 2014 at 9:20pmReply

Stephen Harris: This was absolutely delicious, I tried it this evening on the family as a change from the other salmon dishes that we have. My 8 year old twins gave it a best Daddy’s fish ever award which is very high praise indeed……I’ll tell them when their older that you can download recipes off the internet!!! July 9, 2014 at 9:42amReply

Jaclyn: I’m so glad you family liked this salmon recipe Stephen!! Thanks for your comment! July 22, 2014 at 11:12pmReply

Christie: Can you recommend a good balsamic vinegar? July 15, 2014 at 9:40amReply

Jaclyn: I’d recommend one of these which cook’s illustrated recommended in their taste testing:
Whole Foods 365 Every Day Value at 3.49 for 500ml
Masserie Di Saint’Eramo 10.95 for 250 ml
Fiorucci Riserva 8.99 for 250 m July 15, 2014 at 1:52pmReply

Lauren: My son is allergic to mustard. Any suggestions for a substitution? August 11, 2014 at 5:38amReply

Jaclyn: I’ve heard before you can use a little bit of turmeric in place of mustard. August 13, 2014 at 9:15pmReply

Lindsey: Do you have suggestions for what to serve with this? I usually have salmon with couscous, but couscou doesn’t sound right with this. August 13, 2014 at 7:51amReply

Jaclyn: I like it with rice dishes and broccoli or asparagus. August 27, 2014 at 11:33amReply

Katie: I don’t have any fresh rosemary. What other spice would work? Thyme? Oregano? Sage? September 21, 2014 at 3:41pmReply

Jaclyn: For this specific recipe I prefer the rosemary so I’d just recommend using 1/3 the amount dry. September 22, 2014 at 10:14pmReply

Fern: The recipe looks delicious except that I really do not like rosemary. What happens if I omit it? I like basil a lot, thyme, oregano but I do not like dill or rosemary. September 29, 2014 at 9:21pmReply

Jaclyn: That would be fine but I might replace it with another herb that pairs well with salmon that you do like. October 21, 2014 at 7:09pmReply

Leslie: This was great! Grilled the salmon with some asparagus. Just made a half batch of the sauce, and had leftovers. Will try it on some chicken tomorrow. Yummy! I don’t drink much wine, so I buy the little bottles in a 4-pack just for cooking. January 31, 2015 at 9:10pmReply

Jacqueline Semple: Thought this was really good over the salmon.For those that don’t like the rosemary…..try tarragon.A more subtle flavour but it works great.Thanks for the recipe…it’s a repeating one in my kitchen now!! March 2, 2015 at 7:14pmReply

Kristi Rimkus: I saw your recipe over on Pinterest and had to stop by and tell you how delicious it looks. Now that we eat salmon weekly, I’m always looking for new recipes. March 30, 2015 at 8:08pmReply

Valerie: This salmon is quite possibly the best I’ve ever had! Thank you so much for the recipe, it’s now our favourite in the salmon recipe rotation. :) June 13, 2015 at 7:27pmReply

Melanie: This was delicious!! Love the glaze and I browned the salmon enough so it had a little crust to it. Can’t wait to cook it again. July 23, 2015 at 4:58pmReply

Molly: Do you have to use canola oil, or would olive oil work? November 5, 2015 at 8:33pmReply

Jaclyn: Olive oil should be fine too. November 12, 2015 at 5:32pmReply

Mary Moot: I want to make this for my book club dinner coming up. I like my salmon medium rare, but I know others like theirs more cooked. I am having around 12-14 women!
What do you suggest and also how much fish.
Thank you
Mary January 8, 2016 at 4:47amReply

Laurie Fitz: This was great!!! My husband ate it all (which is a huge compliment as he is a meat guy). Served it over seasoned diced sweet and purple potatoes with a side of roasted green beans January 10, 2016 at 6:17pmReply

Gracee A.: I made it yesterday….totally delicious. Thank you for this recipe. January 11, 2016 at 8:15amReply

wende: This recipe is genus !
I’ve made it several times!
I’ve always made a baked salmon that my family adores, but this!
This they go nuts for and request frequently!
Making it tonight.
Thank you so very much for sharing! January 31, 2016 at 4:22pmReply

Kita: This was the best salmon I’ve ever had and I never say that! I’m a pescatarian so I eat fish at least 4 times/week and am always looking for new recipes. This was very easy to follow and DELICIOUS! May 17, 2016 at 10:21amReply

Jaclyn: Thanks Kita! So glad you loved it! May 19, 2016 at 4:14pmReply

Phyllis hanratty: This is amazing,this will be my go to for salmon. Thank you May 20, 2016 at 3:59amReply

Jaclyn: I’m so happy to hear that Phyllis :)! May 20, 2016 at 10:23amReply

Anna: This was dinner tonight very tasty even my son liked it. Will be making this salmon recipe again soon. I plan to double the balsamic sauce to have on had. Thank you! June 25, 2016 at 7:16pmReply

Rob: This was an amazing and simple recipe packed with wonderful flavor. The only addition to this recipe that made was diced fresh red onion on sprinkled on top of the glaze. August 20, 2016 at 3:30pmReply

Jaclyn: Thanks for the great review Rob! August 25, 2016 at 2:09pmReply

Susan Calhoun: Tonight I made this for the second time and we love it. First time we grilled the salmon and then basted the sauce on as it cooked. Tonight I made it as per the recipe in the skillet and we thought it was more flavorful. I buy the individual packaged salmon filets from Sam’s Club and cut the sauce recipe in half for two filets. This recipe is great for those on a diet because the ingredients are so low in calories. November 30, 2016 at 3:52pmReply

PHarvey: This was very easy and quick. Unfortunately we didn’t have the rosemary. It still came out tasting great. I made this for my lunch to bring to work. Very tasty. Will try it again but this time I’ll have the rosemary on hand. March 14, 2017 at 11:35amReply

Catering in Den Haag: This looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing de recipe and the nice pictures. July 4, 2017 at 12:03amReply

Jill: I don’t have a fine strainer. Would cheesecloth work? Thanks! July 17, 2017 at 9:20amReply

Jaclyn: Yes it’s just to strain out the rosemary and garlic for a smooth glaze. July 18, 2017 at 10:43amReply

Barb: We loved it. Better than lemon . Sauce could go on a kale salad. I found another recipe that has maple syrup and balsamic which I will try. We baked our fish and it was yummy. Love this recipe. October 23, 2017 at 12:58pmReply

Jaclyn: So glad you loved it – thanks Barb! October 23, 2017 at 2:20pmReply

JESSICA: Hey Jaclyn, do you think if I bought a flavored balsamic glaze I should add the 1/4 cup white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp dijon mustard? O just use the glaze itself? December 15, 2017 at 1:36pmReply

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